Progress can be slow, but hope is now on the horizon. And it comes in the form of an extremely large ship, known as Ever Fortune.
The size of three football fields, Ever Fortune and ships like it can carry double the amount of consumer products -- like furniture, footwear, and even wine -- than ships that have called on the Port of Boston in the past.
The hope is that it can help ease the supply chain issues that have devastated the retail industry.
Supply chain issues have been impacting a multitude of businesses since last year. In 2020, there were more than 268,000 containers in and out of the port, but in 2021 it dropped to 248,000 when most of the economy opened back up.
“The magnitude of it and then the duration. We’re going into a year of the supply chain being extremely disrupted. The longer it goes, the longer it will take to dig out of it,” Port Director Mike Meyren said.
In December, we spoke with Meyren and gave you an exclusive inside look at the Port of Boston and the $850 million makeover it underwent to make an arrival like Sunday's possible.
Large cranes were installed and Boston Harbor was dredged so big ships like the Ever Fortune could dock at Conley Terminal in South Boston.
“Those big ships will bring more space on those ships, and they’ll help the 2,500 businesses in New England that use the Port of Boston to service their business," Meyren said.
The cranes here at Conley Terminal will unload several shipping containers off the Ever Fortune before it moves on to its next port sometime Sunday evening.
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The $850 million investment modernized and expanded Conley Terminal, as well as dredged and deepened Boston Harbor. The massive cranes installed in October at the Terminal are now able to accommodate larger ships that can carry double the cargo.
This container will help connect Boston with ports in East Asia through the Panama Canal. It will dock at Berth 10 of the terminal, and hopefully help ease some supply chain issues.
